FAA halts U.S. departures after communications outage

The Federal Aviation Administration halted departing flights at airports across the United States on Friday, November 13, after a telecommunications outage disrupted air traffic control communications. The agency said the nationwide ground stop was imposed for safety; aircraft already airborne could continue to land, while international arrivals were handled case by case.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications problem affected Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which manage aircraft moving between airports. He said FAA technicians were investigating. The agency’s advisory instructed departing traffic to remain on the ground until further notice, but did not identify when restrictions would end.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had no indication at that time that the outage resulted from a malicious attack. He also said the cause was not yet known. Officials did not rule out possibilities while the investigation continued, and no technical explanation for the communications failure had been disclosed.

The outage disrupted airline schedules as aircraft and passengers waited at airports. Flight-tracking figures reported during the...